EVs - Test Drives and Impressions of NZ Available Models

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jonathan18

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#3345044 20-Feb-2025 20:02

Dingbatt:

I certainly had no problem adapting to “two pedal driving” and in fact it is easier to drive smoothly. Particularly compared to my TM3 where the regen is quite harsh.

@Dingbatt: Given you’ve recently bought a S3xy knob (man, that sounds so wrong…), have you tried the regen settings option? Adds in a feature that Tesla should have potentially provided from the start.

I’ll only tend to reduce regen when on the open road, as I like OPD in the urban environment; even the smallest reduction to 75% is significantly different to Tesla’s default regen.

Dingbatt

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#3345339 21-Feb-2025 16:32

No I hadn’t thought to. I may experiment with it, but to be honest, I OPD urban and use TACC on the motorway.

This is getting a bit sidetracked. Now that I have taken the Sealion 7 for a test drive, does anybody know when/if the Juniper Model Y will be available to test out?

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

jarledb

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#3345494 21-Feb-2025 21:47

Dingbatt:

This is getting a bit sidetracked. Now that I have taken the Sealion 7 for a test drive, does anybody know when/if the Juniper Model Y will be available to test out?

First deliveries is supposed to be in May, but there might be demo units available before then.

I saw that demo units were on the way to showrooms in Aussie this week, so maybe demos are just around the corner here.

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Dingbatt

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#3345593 22-Feb-2025 19:05

jarledb:

Dingbatt:

This is getting a bit sidetracked. Now that I have taken the Sealion 7 for a test drive, does anybody know when/if the Juniper Model Y will be available to test out?

First deliveries is supposed to be in May, but there might be demo units available before then.

I saw that demo units were on the way to showrooms in Aussie this week, so maybe demos are just around the corner here.

I’m kind of hoping there might be one at Tesla South (Auckland) next month when I take my car in for a warrant. Be good to compare to the Sealion 7, although I don’t think they are for the same market.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

Dingbatt

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#3463362 20-Feb-2026 16:11

Wow a whole year since I posted a test drive review.
Zeekr 7X AWD Performance
TLDR:
Aimed at the mid ground between Budget and Luxury European, good range from a big NMC battery. Well appointed with some gimmicks like automatic doors (in the AWD Performance) but comfortable and quiet. 800V architecture so fast charging if you can find (and afford) an ultra fast public charger.

Test Drive : Zeekr 7X Performance (AWD) $95k Black (+$1700) and grey interior. My standard drive with a mix of 100km/h motorway, extra-urban and urban driving. Fine weather, 22°C, air conditioning auto.
35km : 16.3kWh/100km.

This is not a small car at 4.8m long and 2.4T.
Interior:
The 7X I test drove was the AWD Performance model, so the top of the range with auto-opening doors, heated, cooled and massage seats in the front with electric adjustment including lumbar and memory. I found the seat quite comfortable, maybe a touch firmer than my TM3.
Rear seats also feature electric recline. With my seat set at normal driving position there was a massive amount of leg room. Rear passenger windows have electric blinds.
There is a full length panoramic sunroof with an electric shade. When closed, the black everywhere interior makes it seem quite dark.
There is a large (16”?) centre screen for running everything. It has a few physical buttons at the bottom, the only really useful ones of which are the volume roller and glovebox switch. Most things are configured through the touchscreen and the UI needs a bit of work (IMHO). Finding stuff is a mission and I think it has “Quick action” panel which I hope is configurable because what was on the test car was pretty useless.
But as a bonus, it has a 13” drivers display, which (hooray) is shaped so you can see the whole thing below the steering wheel arc. It has menu selectable display options and during my drive I had speed, mode, AR traffic (similar to display on Teslas showing surrounding traffic, etc), and drive stats. When using either OEM navigation or Android Auto (wireless) (sorry I don’t have access to an iPhone) nav instructions were displayed. One thing that was missing was speed sign recognition, but I understand that has just been rectified with an OTA update (test car not updated?)
It has a 32” (projected) HUD that displays most of the same information (not in the base model). I also tried the Zeekr X and its HUD, despite being slightly smaller, seemed to have more info on it (software update maybe?).
HVAC is adequate but not exceptional. Vents and all controls are adjusted in the touchscreen (à la Tesla) and rear seat vents are in the door pillars.
Steering wheel has stalks! Left side indicators, etc, right side gear selector and cruise control (same as old style Tesla). On the spokes are controllers for volume, menu, etc, similar to many vehicles. They are gloss black and not particularly tactile but at least they are easier to decipher than those on the Zeekr X (which are unmarked joysticks like the MG4).
Storage seems good with underfloor in the back, reasonable rear cargo, drawers under the rear seats, good centre console (which I believe can be swapped out for temperature controlled compartment) with dual opening cover and a decent sized glovebox. There are two sized frunks depending whether you have dual motors or not.
It has the ability to bring up a camera view of the rear seats (child check) while driving, but no dashcam despite having multiple cameras. It does have a sentry mode.
In summary, the interior is very comfortable but the UI needs a bit of tweaking.
Exterior:
Subjective, but it really is just a generic fastback SUV shape like the Sealion7, XPeng G6, etc. There are obvious influences from the Geely group, like the frameless side mirrors that are on Volvos and Polestars. Boring colours except a nice forest green and powder blue. All colours except white are plus $1700. Reasonable styles of alloys.
Performance has auto doors. There is a button on the pillar to open and it has sensors to prevent it banging into things. The door handles (on the Performance model) do nothing except pop out in an accident (apparently). Pressing the brake once inside closes the door (or push the door button).If the door doesn’t open far enough due to a perceived obstacle, it can be manually pushed to allow exit. I watched a YT video which claimed the sensors can miss obstacles at given levels, so it pays to be alert and be prepared to grab the door to stop it. The door handles are interesting. Enough people struggle with the door handles on my existing car, so this would be even more “interesting”. Mind you, I guess it’s a bit the same as mainstream cars (like the Toyota CHR?) where the door handles are is hidden in the rear door window frame).
Driving:
Car has proximity key, NFC card and phone connection for activation. No start button, just press the brake. (And walk away locking I believe)
The model I tested has air suspension, which is adaptive depending on speed and road conditions. Ride height is also manually selectable, but I’m not sure if it is location aware like the Model S is.
It was really quiet, even on coarse chip. Visibility is good except out the rear window, where it is poor due to the fastback slope of the hatch and the height of the rear seat headrests. Just as well the reversing camera is good with high resolution. It has 360° camera which has a good presentation. It supposedly has autopark, which I didn’t try, but is reported as poor and slow.
It has the equivalent of Tesla’s “Autopilot” (until Tesla removes it) providing adaptive cruise and lane centring (single and double tap on the drive stalk). When I tried it, it seemed pretty good. I mainly only use Autopilot on motorways/expressways and it did a good job in that realm, perhaps not quite as rock solid in lane centring as my TM3.
If you put your foot down it has plenty of (sick inducing) acceleration available. It has a One Pedal Driving option but regeneration only has three settings. The car will come to a complete stop but isn’t as aggressive as my TM3 in doing so.
My test drive produced an efficiency of 16.3kWh/100km, which for a 94kWh (usable) NMC battery gives me figures of 577km vs a claimed 543km.
So there are 3 models
The base model that has a 57kWh “Gold” battery, that is $70000.
A Long Range RWD model that has the 100kWh NMC battery that is $80000
and the AWD Performance model that is $95000.

Conclusion:
I like this new generation of Chinese EVs coming to NZ. I’m torn whether the AWD Performance or the RWD, which is $15000 cheaper is a better fit. Of note the 7X is more expensive than its equivalent Sealion 7 models and a similar price to the Model Y (except the MYP which is $6K more).

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MadEngineer

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#3463364 20-Feb-2026 16:16

Wonder if NZ will follow other countries not allowing Chinese cars into sensitive locations.

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Dingbatt

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#3463441 21-Feb-2026 10:26

I’m on a roll at the moment, so here is a review for the Zeekr X that I took for a drive after the 7X above. It’s not as thorough as this was mainly by way of comparison.

Zeekr X AWD

TLDR: Well equipped mid sized hatchback. Reasonable real world range although no better efficiency in my test than the bigger 7X. Same platform as the (more expensive) Volvo EX30 but still more expensive than similarly sized rivals in this category.

Tested: Zeekr X AWD in White with Purple/White Interior $70000. 16.3kWh/100km on 30km test run.
Other models
RWD with same battery $60000
+ Convenience Package $64000 (gets some but not all of extra AWD features)

Interior:
Although advertised as “Purple/White” the interior is actually more bluey-grey than purple and to my eye makes the interior feel more airy than the dark grey option. A comfortable 4 seater with capacity for an extra in the back seat. Seats are comfortable with multi electric adjustment. Heated and cooled front seats as well. HVAC is adequate with screen based adjustment of vents.
The UI is okay, but a little hard to navigate sometimes, and as with the 7X, it has a pull down shortcut panel that I think is configurable but needs some tweaking to be useful. It does have wireless Android Auto (tested) and wireless Apple CarPlay and the Navigation prompts feed through to the displays (as well as the OEM Nav). I couldn’t get the “Hi Zeekr” assistant to respond (when not in AA) but Google Assistant responded when the mic button on the steering wheel was pressed (so I assume Siri would too). The centre display is large and clear and it has a driver’s display (yeah) that is visible through the steering wheel arc that is configurable through a menu. It has a 24” (projected size) HUD (AWD only) with useful info and an AR nav representation (animated arrows).
On the steering wheel it has 2 joysticks that I found a little confusing to use. I guess you would quickly get used to them and at least you don’t need to look down at them to see what you are operating, but they felt a little flimsy.
It has standard steering wheel stalks, indicators, etc on the left, gear selector and LaneCentring-Adaptive Cruise on the right. It has one wireless charging pad in the centre console. I couldn’t get my Fold7 into it and it has a weird sort of cushion inside on the upper surface, which I assume is to stop your phone flying out if you hit the brakes. Storage is adequate and rear luggage space pretty good for this size vehicle. I didn’t check if it had a frunk.
Exterior:
Definitely a Volvo influence here. This car shares the SEA2 platform with Smart and Volvo vehicles of the same size. The biggest giveaway is the frameless mirrors that Volvo favours these days. Standard alloys and mostly boring paint colours, and as always these days, white included, all other colours extra. I actually quite like the styling of this car, particularly when you compare it to the similarly sized vehicles like the Atto2.

Driving:
Pleasant and quiet to drive (perhaps not quite as quiet as the 7X) with good visibility all around. Lane Centring and Cruise Control operated effectively on the motorway. It has plenty of go when you put your foot down. It has a really good 360° camera system for parking guidance.
30km test in fine warm conditions with aircon set to auto produced 16.3kWh/100km so from the 66kWh NMC battery that is just over 400km.

Conclusion:
I quite liked this car and it would make a great vehicle for use in the city. Not too small so that it has no space in it but still easy to park. It is comfortable enough to take on longer journeys. It is pleasant to drive and not butt ugly to look at. It is more expensive than some of its rivals.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

wellygary

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#3463460 21-Feb-2026 12:57

MadEngineer:

Wonder if NZ will follow other countries not allowing Chinese cars into sensitive locations.

What like to McDs and KFC... :)

I mean other than the small chunk of a building in Mt Wellington under quasi US control, there are not many sensitive locations in NZ

PolicyGuy

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#3463466 21-Feb-2026 13:28

wellygary:

MadEngineer:

Wonder if NZ will follow other countries not allowing Chinese cars into sensitive locations.

What like to McDs and KFC... :)

I mean other than the small chunk of a building in Mt Wellington under quasi US control, there are not many sensitive locations in NZ

Other countries have been taking a far wider definition than yours of 'sensitive locations'. Based on their criteria, you'd not be allowed to take your Chinese vehicle into the Devonport dockyard, the Whenuapai and Ohakea air bases, or the Linton, Trentham & Burnham army bases.

The whole concept of "Chinese vehicle" is problematic these days, anyway.
Do those proposed restrictions include vehicle brands (e.g. Volvo, Polestar) that are Chinese-owned but built elsewhere, or to Chinese-built and exported vehicles for non-Chinese brands (e.g. Tesla, LDV, Volvo, and BMW)

k1w1k1d

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#3463470 21-Feb-2026 13:58

Reminds me of trudging up and down the external stairs to the roof of the Ministry of Defence building in Wellington. We weren't allowed into the building to use the lifts, so had to carry everything up the stairs. Didn't matter how heavy or awkward the load was, we still had to use the stairs.

I bet they were sitting comfortably inside laughing at us on their security monitors.

The labour charge for the job was pretty high.

sultanoswing

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#3463471 21-Feb-2026 14:01

It'll be whatever Chinese cars are deemed an economic (not security) threat by other car makers who are lobbying/bribing the grubby politicians. It'll all be given the fig leaf cover of "security concerns".

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HarmLessSolutions

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#3463472 21-Feb-2026 14:04

PolicyGuy:

Other countries have been taking a far wider definition than yours of 'sensitive locations'. Based on their criteria, you'd not be allowed to take your Chinese vehicle into the Devonport dockyard, the Whenuapai and Ohakea air bases, or the Linton, Trentham & Burnham army bases.

The whole concept of "Chinese vehicle" is problematic these days, anyway.
Do those proposed restrictions include vehicle brands (e.g. Volvo, Polestar) that are Chinese-owned but built elsewhere, or to Chinese-built and exported vehicles for non-Chinese brands (e.g. Tesla, LDV, Volvo, and BMW)

The country of origin/manufacture of the vehicle is one thing but what about if a dashcam is fitted that has cloud uploading facility? Not too difficult to hack into the likes of BlackVue's servers or data feed if they're motivated enough to sneak a peak.

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Dingbatt

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#3463488 21-Feb-2026 16:05

Unless you are “test driving” the spyware, can you take this BS discussion elsewhere?

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

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